JP4487451B2

JP4487451B2 - Mobile terminal maintenance system and method

Info

Publication number: JP4487451B2
Application number: JP2001205887A
Authority: JP
Inventors: 俊裕有賀
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2001-07-06
Filing date: 2001-07-06
Publication date: 2010-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-06
Also published as: JP2003023384A

Description

【０００１】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明は、携帯端末保守システムおよび方法に関し、特に、利用者に所持されている状態の携帯電話の送受信性能を検査する携帯端末保守システムおよび方法に関するものである。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
携帯電話システムでは、基地局と携帯電話との間で良好な無線通信を確立することが、音声品質やデータ通信品質を維持するために重要となる。
基地局と携帯電話との間の無線通信を良好に保つためには、基地局側および携帯電話側の双方で正常に送受信が行われる必要がある。
【０００３】
このような基地局や携帯電話を評価して保守する方法については、従来より提案されている。例えば、基地局については、基地局の通信エリア内の各位置で良好な無線通信が可能かどうかを、例えば音声フレームのビット誤り率（ＢＥＲ）に基づき評価するもの（例えば、特願２０００−２５２９０７号公報など）が提案されている。
また、携帯電話については、基地局の場合と同様にビット誤り率等に基づき、基地局の通信エリア内から外れつつあることを予測して携帯電話から利用者へ通報するもの（例えば、特願平６−２７６１４９号公報など）が提案されている。
【０００４】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
しかしながら、このような従来の保守方法では、基地局と携帯電話との距離に応じて評価が変動するため、任意の場所で携帯電話自体の性能低下を正確に検出して保守することができないという問題点があった。
また、利用者からの依頼に基づき所定の試験環境のもとで当該携帯電話の送受信電波強度を測定する保守サービスがあるものの、このような保守サービスを利用する前に、利用者が実際に携帯電話の性能低下を検査することが難しいという問題点があった。
本発明はこのような課題を解決するためのものであり、利用者に所持されている状態で携帯電話の性能低下を正確かつ容易に検査できる携帯端末保守システムおよび方法を提供することを目的としている。
【０００５】
【課題を解決するための手段】
このような目的を達成するために、本発明にかかる携帯端末保守システムは、無線回線を介して基地局と接続して通話やデータ通信を行う携帯端末について、利用者に所持されている状態で当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する携帯端末保守システムにおいて、通信網を介して接続された複数の基地局と、無線回線を介して基地局のいずれかと接続して通話やデータ通信を行う携帯端末と、通信網を介して基地局と接続され当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する保守管理局とから構成し、基地局に、当該携帯端末との間で所定の電波を送受信することにより当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する送受信検査手段を設け、保守管理局に、当該携帯端末の位置と当該携帯端末が接続されている基地局の位置とから、当該携帯端末と当該基地局との間の距離を求める距離調査手段と、この距離調査手段で得られた距離と送受信検査手段で得られた当該携帯端末の送受信性能とを比較して当該携帯端末の送受信性能の良否を判断する判定手段と、判定手段での判定結果が当該携帯端末の送受信性能の低下を示す場合、当該携帯端末に対して保守の必要性を通知する保守通知手段とを設けたものである。
【０００６】
当該携帯端末と基地局との距離を求める具体的構成例として、携帯端末に、当該携帯端末の位置を測位する測位手段を設け、距離調査手段に、当該携帯端末の測位手段を制御して当該携帯端末の位置を得る携帯端末位置調査手段と、当該携帯端末から通知された当該携帯端末の接続されている基地局を示す基地局情報に基づき、各基地局の既知の位置情報から当該基地局の位置を得る基地局位置調査手段とを設けてもよい。
【０００７】
当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する際、送受信検査手段で、当該基地局から送信した所定レベルの検査用電波に対して当該携帯端末で得られた携帯端末受信電波強度と、当該携帯端末から送信された所定レベルの検査用電波に対して当該基地局で得られた基地局受信電波強度とを当該携帯端末の送受信性能として出力するようにしてもよい。
【０００９】
携帯端末の位置を調査する際、携帯端末位置調査手段として、ＧＰＳ衛星を用いたＧＰＳ測位方式または通信網に接続されたＧＰＳ基地局を用いたネットワークアシスト測位方式を用いてもよい。
【００１０】
各携帯端末の自動保守管理を行う具体的構成例として、保守管理局に、各携帯端末の送受信性能の収集および良否判定を定期的に行う保守管理手段をさらに設けてもよい。
【００１１】
各携帯端末の自動保守管理を行う他の具体的構成例として、基地局に、当該携帯端末との間で行った送受信品質検査の検査結果に応じて、保守管理局に対して当該携帯端末の保守調査を依頼する保守依頼手段をさらに設け、保守管理局に、基地局からの保守調査依頼に応じて、当該携帯端末の送受信性能の収集および良否判定を行う保守管理手段をさらに設けてもよい。
【００１２】
当該携帯端末に対して保守の必要性を通知する際、保守通知手段で、当該携帯端末の位置情報に応じて最寄りのサービスセンターに関する情報を通知するようにしてもよい。
【００１３】
また、本発明にかかる携帯端末保守方法は、通信網を介して接続された複数の基地局と、無線回線を介して基地局のいずれかと接続して通話やデータ通信を行う携帯端末と、通信網を介して基地局と接続され当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する保守管理局とからなる携帯端末保守システムを用いて、利用者に所持されている状態で当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する携帯端末保守方法であって、基地局で、当該携帯端末との間で所定の電波を送受信することにより当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査し、保守管理局で、当該携帯端末の位置と当該携帯端末が接続されている基地局の位置とから、当該携帯端末と当該基地局との間の距離を求め、得られた距離と検査で得られた当該携帯端末の送受信性能とを比較して当該携帯端末の送受信性能の良否を判断し、この判断での判定結果が当該携帯端末の送受信性能の低下を示す場合、当該携帯端末に対して保守の必要性を通知するようにしたものである。
【００１４】
当該携帯端末と基地局との距離を求める具体的方法として、携帯端末で、当該携帯端末の位置を測位し、保守管理局で距離を求める際、当該携帯端末の測位手段を制御して当該携帯端末の位置を得るとともに、当該携帯端末から通知された当該携帯端末の接続されている基地局を示す基地局情報に基づき、各基地局の既知の位置情報から当該基地局の位置を得るようにしてもよい。
【００１５】
当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する際、当該基地局から送信した所定レベルの検査用電波に対して当該携帯端末で得られた携帯端末受信電波強度と、当該携帯端末から送信された所定レベルの検査用電波に対して当該基地局で得られた基地局受信電波強度とを当該携帯端末の送受信性能として出力するようにしてもよい。
【００１７】
携帯端末の位置を調査する際、ＧＰＳ衛星を用いたＧＰＳ測位方式または通信網に接続されたＧＰＳ基地局を用いたネットワークアシスト測位方式を用いるようにしてもよい。
【００１８】
各携帯端末の自動保守管理を行う具体的方法として、保守管理局で、各携帯端末の送受信性能の収集および良否判定を定期的に行うようにしてもよい。
【００１９】
各携帯端末の自動保守管理を行う他の具体的方法として、基地局で、当該携帯端末との間で行った送受信品質検査の検査結果に応じて、保守管理局に対して当該携帯端末の保守調査を依頼し、保守管理局で、基地局からの保守調査依頼に応じて、当該携帯端末の送受信性能の収集および良否判定を行うようにしてもよい。
【００２０】
当該携帯端末に対して保守の必要性を通知する際、保守管理局で、当該携帯端末の位置情報に応じて最寄りのサービスセンターに関する情報を通知するようにしてもよい。
【００２１】
【発明の実施の形態】
次に、本発明の実施の形態について図面を参照して説明する。
図１は本発明の第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯端末保守システムの基本構成を示すブロック図である。
この携帯端末保守システムには、携帯電話１１、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃ、電話網３１、保守管理局４１、ＧＰＳ（Global Positioning System）衛星６１ａ，６１ｂ，６１ｃ，６１ｄが設けられている。
【００２２】
携帯電話１１は、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃと公衆無線回線５１を使って通信する電話機能や使用者とのインターフェースなどの一般的な携帯電話の機能を有している。
これに加えて、携帯電話１１に取付けられているＧＰＳアンテナ１３により、ＧＰＳ衛星６１ａ，６１ｂ，６１ｃ，６１ｄからのＧＰＳ電波６２ａ，６２ｂ，６２ｃ，６２ｄを受信するＧＰＳ電波受信機能、受信したＧＰＳ電波６２ａ，６２ｂ，６２ｃ，６２ｄから携帯電話１１の緯度経度あるいは高さをも算出する測位機能、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃと保守管理局４１と連携して携帯電話１１の送受信性能を検査する送受信検査機能、および保守管理局４１から指定される通知文を携帯電話１１の使用者に表示通知する保守通知表示機能を有している。
【００２３】
基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃは、携帯電話１１や電話網３１との通信など一般的な機能を有している。
これに加えて、携帯電話１１と通信状態にある基地局２１ａが保守管理局４１に基地局固有のＩＤを送信する基地局ＩＤ送信機能、および携帯電話１１と保守管理局４１と連携して携帯電話の送受信性能を検査する送受信検査機能を有している。
なお、基地局アンテナ２２ａ、２２ｂ、２２ｃは、一般的に基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃが装備しているものであり、携帯電話１１の携帯電話アンテナ１２と公衆無線回線５１を使って通信を行う。
【００２４】
保守管理局４１は、送受信保守を必要とする携帯電話１１を特定する保守要否調査（Ａ３０：保守管理手段）の機能、携帯電話１１の位置を調査する携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１：携帯端末位置調査手段）の機能、携帯電話１１と通信状態にある基地局２１ａから送信される基地局ＩＤを受信し基地局２１ａの位置を調査する基地局位置調査（Ａ３２：基地局位置調査手段）の機能、および携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）および基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）を使って調査した携帯電話位置と基地局位置とから携帯電話基地局間距離を算出する携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３：距離調査手段）の機能を有している。
【００２５】
これに加えて、携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａと連携して携帯電話の送受信性能を検査し良否判定する送受信検査（Ａ３４：判定手段）の機能、および送受信検査（Ａ３４）での携帯電話の送受信性能良否判定結果から携帯電話使用者が必要とする通知文を作成し携帯電話１１に通知する保守通知（Ａ３５：保守通知手段）の機能を有している。
電話網３１は、一般的な通信機能を有し、発明では保守管理局４１が接続されており保守管理局４１と基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃ間の通信を成立させている。
【００２６】
次に、本発明の構成要素である携帯電話１１、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃ、保守管理局４１の内部構成について説明する。
まず、図２を参照して、携帯電話１１内部構成を説明する。携帯電話１１には、ＧＰＳ電波６２ａ，６２ｂ，６２ｃ，６２ｄを受信するＧＰＳアンテナ１３、ＧＰＳアンテナ１３が受信したＧＰＳ電波６２ａ、，６２ｂ，６２ｃ，６２ｄを信号処理し測位を行うＧＰＳ受信装置１４、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃと公衆無線回線５１での通信を行う携帯電話アンテナ１２と無線通信装置１６、制御装置１５の指示に従って表示を行う表示装置１７、ＧＰＳ受信装置１４、無線通信装置１６、および表示装置１７を制御して測位機能、送受信検査機能、保守通知表示機能を動作させる制御装置１５が設けられている。なお、携帯電話１１の測位機能は、一般自動車に普及しているカーナビゲーションなど一般的技術を利用できる。
【００２７】
次に、図３を参照して、基地局２１について説明する。基地局２１には、公衆無線回線５１を使って携帯電話１１と通信するための基地局アンテナ２２および無線通信装置２３、電話網３１と通信するための電話網通信装置２５、および無線通信装置２３や電話網通信装置２５を制御し基地局として機能する制御装置２４が設けられている。
本発明で、制御装置２４は無線通信装置２３と電話網通信装置２５を制御して行う基地局ＩＤ送信機能と送受信検査機能を持っている。
【００２８】
次に、図４を参照して、保守管理局４１について説明する。保守管理局４１は、電話網３１に接続し基地局２１あるいは携帯電話１１と通信する電話網通信装置４２、保守を必要とする携帯電話を検索する保守要否調査（Ａ３０）の機能、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）の機能、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）の機能および携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）の機能、送受信検査（Ａ３４）の機能、保守通知（Ａ３５）の機能を持つ制御装置２４、基地局ＩＤに対する基地局の緯度経度高さなどの情報を蓄積する基地局位置データベース４４、および携帯電話１１の送受信検査結果などを蓄積する携帯電話保守データベース４５が設けられている。
【００２９】
このうち、電話網通信装置４２としては、モデム、ＩＳＤＮターミナルアダプタなど電話網依存の一般物を使用することが可能である。制御装置４３、基地局位置データベース４４、携帯電話保守データベース４５としてはパーソナルコンピュータやワークステーションなどの一般的な電子計算機を使用することができる。
図７は基地局位置データベース４４のデータ例であり、基地局ＩＤと緯度経度高さなどの位置情報が記録されている。図８は携帯電話保守データベース４５のデータ例であり、携帯電話一台一台に対して製造番号をキーに保守通知先としての電話番号、送受信の検査結果、保守通知日および通知内容の保守状況を記録している。
【００３０】
図１において、ＧＰＳ衛星は、ＧＰＳ衛星６１ａ，６１ｂ，６１ｃ，６１ｄの合計四つが示されているが、携帯電話１１が受信できるＧＰＳ衛星数は、時間および場所に依存して不定である。また、図１は、携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａが通信している例であり、携帯電話１１の存在する場所によって、基地局２１ｂや基地局２１ｃになる。
図１において、基地局は、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃの合計三つが示されているが、本発明は、基地局の数を強制することはなく、任意の数が可能である。なお、ＧＰＳによる測位方法、携帯電話１１、基地局２１ａ、２１ｂ、２１ｃ、電話網３１については、当業者にとっては一般的であり、また本発明とは直接関係しないので、その詳細な構成の説明については省略する。
【００３１】
次に、図５，６を参照して、本実施の形態にかかる携帯端末保守システムの動作について説明する。本実施の形態にかかる携帯端末保守システムの動作は、図５，６に示すように、保守要否調査（Ａ３０）、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）、送受信検査（Ａ３４）、保守通知（Ａ３５）の６つフェーズから構成され、これらを順次実行する。
【００３２】
まず、保守管理局４１の制御装置２４は、保守要否調査（Ａ３０）のフェーズに入り、図８に示す携帯電話保守データベース４５の次回検査日を読み出し、次回検査日確認（Ａ１）を行う。
次回検査日確認（Ａ１）は、次回検査日が本日あるいは本日より過去である携帯電話に対しては、保守を必要とする携帯電話であると判断する。次回検査日確認（Ａ１）で保守が必要と判断された携帯電話に対しては以下に示す保守を行う。
なお、保守管理局４１が保守要否調査（Ａ３０）のフェーズに入る契機は、１日１回であるとか１週間に１回など定期的あるいは必要に応じて制御装置２４が自動的にあるいは保守管理者が制御装置２４に指示することである。
【００３３】
続いて、保守管理局４１は、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）のフェーズに入り、保守要否調査（Ａ３０）で保守が必要と判断された携帯電話１１に測位指示（Ａ２）を携帯電話１１に出す。
携帯電話１１は測位機能を使って、携帯電話１１の位置を測位（Ａ３）を行う。携帯電話１１は測位結果を保守管理局４１に送信する測位結果送信（Ａ４）を行う。
【００３４】
次に、保守管理局４１は、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）のフェーズに入り、携帯電話１１と通信している基地局２１ａに対して基地局ＩＤ送信指示（Ａ５）を行う。
この携帯電話１１と通信を行った基地局２１ａは、基地局ＩＤ送信指示（Ａ５）に反応して基地局ＩＤを保守管理局４１に送信する基地局ＩＤ送信（Ａ６）を行う。
【００３５】
続いて、保守管理局４１は、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）のフェーズに入り、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）で判明した携帯電話１１の位置と、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）で判明した基地局ＩＤと基地局位置データベース４４から割り出した基地局の位置とに基づいて、携帯電話と基地局との間の距離を計算する携帯電話基地局間距離計算（Ａ７）を行う。
そして、保守管理局４１は、送受信検査（Ａ３４）のフェーズに入る。送受信検査を行うことを指示するとともに、送受信検査時の基地局２１ａからの携帯電話１１に出す受信検査用電波の強度、および携帯電話１１から基地局２１ａに出す送信検査用電波の強度をそれぞれ指定するため、送受信検査と電波強度指示（Ａ８）を行う。
【００３６】
この電波強度指示（Ａ８）を受けた基地局２１ａは、送受信検査指示（Ａ９）を携帯電話１１に出して送受信検査を行うことを通知する。送受信検査指示（Ａ９）を出した基地局２１ａは送受信検査同期確立（Ａ１０）を行い、携帯電話１１は送受信同期確立（Ａ１１）を行って、基地局２１ａからの受信検査用電波待ちになる。
次に、基地局２１ａは、携帯電話１１への受信検査用電波の強度を、保守管理局４１からの送受信検査と電波強度指示（Ａ８）により指定された受信検査用電波強度に設定する送信電波強度設定（Ａ１２）を行う。そして、設定した電波強度で受信検査用電波を携帯電話１１に送信する受信検査用電波送信（Ａ１３）を行う。
【００３７】
携帯電話１１は、受信検査用電波を受信し、受信電波の強度を測定する携帯電話受信電波強度測定（Ａ１４）を行い、測定結果を基地局２１ａに送信する携帯電話受信電波強度送信（Ａ１５）を行う。
これに応じて、基地局２１ａは、携帯電話１１から通知された、携帯電話１１で受信検査用電波を受信した際の電波強度を記録する携帯電話受信電波強度記録（Ａ１６）を行う。
【００３８】
次に、基地局２１ａは、保守管理局４１から送受信検査と電波強度指示（Ａ８）にて指定された携帯電話１１から基地局２１ａに送信する送信検査用電波強度とを携帯電話１１に送信する送信電波強度指定（Ａ１７）を行う。
これに応じて、携帯電話１１は、送信電波強度指定（Ａ１７）で指定された送信電波の強度で基地局２１ａに電波を送信するための送信電波強度設定（Ａ１８）を行い、基地局２１ａに送信検査用電波を送信する送信検査用電波送信（Ａ１９）を行う。
【００３９】
続いて、基地局２１ａは、送信検査用電波を受信し電波強度を測定する基地局受信電波強度測定（Ａ２０）を行い、測定結果を記録する基地局受信電波強度記録（Ａ２１）を行う。
そして、携帯電話受信電波強度記録（Ａ１６）と基地局受信電波強度記録（Ａ２１）で記録した電波強度を保守管理局４１に送信する携帯電話受信電波強度および基地局受信電波強度送信（Ａ２２／以上Ａ９〜Ａ２２：送受信検査手段）を行う。
【００４０】
保守管理局４１は、基地局２１ａから送信された携帯電話受診電波強度と基地局受信電波強度、送受信検査と電波強度指示（Ａ８）で指定した送信電波強度値、携帯電話基地局間距離計算（Ａ７）で計算した携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａ間の距離から送受信した電波強度が適正かどうか、すなわち携帯端末と基地局との間の距離に見合った電波強度であるかどうかを判定するとともに、その判定結果を携帯電話保守データベース４５に記録する送受信検査結果判定（Ａ２３）を行う。
【００４１】
図８の例では、携帯電話の電波受信性能が十分であれば受信検査は「○」、性能低下により不十分であれば「△」や「×」を記録する。また、携帯電話の送信電波性能が十分であれば送信検査は「○」、性能低下により不十分であれば「△」や「×」を記録する。そして、検査した日と検査日として記録し、再び送受信検査を行う日を次回検査日として記録する。
最後に、保守管理局４１は、保守通知（Ａ３５）のフェーズに入る。保守管理局４１は、携帯電話保守データベース４５から携帯電話１１の検査結果を読み出し、携帯電話１１の使用者への保守の通知文の作成、通知、通知結果を携帯電話保守データベース４５に記録する保守通知（Ａ２４）を行う。
【００４２】
図８の例では、受信検査あるいは送信検査に「×」があれば通知文を「来店のお願い」とし、受信検査と送信検査両方が「○」ならば通知文を「問題なし」とする。
また、受信検査と送信検査の両方が「△」であったり「○」と「△」であれは通知文を「来店の推薦」とし、通知文を携帯電話１１に送信する。
【００４３】
送信が完了したならば保守通知日を携帯電話保守データベース４５に記録し、なんらかのトラブルにより送信が完了できなかったならば保守通知日を「未完」として記録する。
携帯電話１１は、保守管理局４１からの保守の通知文を受け取り、通知文を表示装置１７に表示してする表示通知表示（Ａ２５）を行って使用者に通知文を知らせる。
【００４４】
このように、携帯電話１１の位置と既知である基地局２１ａとの位置から携帯電話基地局間距離を算出し、公衆無線回線５１における基地局２１ａから携帯電話１１への送信電波強度と携帯電話１１が受信した電波の受信電波強度が携帯電話基地局間距離に対して適当であるか、あるいは携帯電話１１から基地局２１ａへの送信電波強度と基地局２１ａが受信した電波の受信電波強度が、携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａとの間の距離に対して適当であるかを保守管理局４１で判断するようにしたので、利用者に所持されている状態で携帯電話の性能低下を正確かつ容易に検査できる。
そして、携帯電話１１の性能が不十分のおりには、その携帯電話の事業者から使用者に保守の通知を出すことができ、性能低下の携帯電話を使い続けるという不都合を避けることができる。
【００４５】
さらに、携帯電話１１の送受信性能の検査を携帯電話１１の使用者が所持していながらできることから、保守サービスセンターで携帯電話１１の送受信性能の検査を行う必要がなく修理を迅速に行うことができる。
また、ＧＰＳを用いて携帯電話１１の位置を精密に測位して、基地局２１と携帯電話１１間の距離を計算するようにしたので、送受信検査を正確に行うことができる。
また、送受信検査結果が保守管理局４１に記録されるため、携帯電話製造業者は携帯電話の送受信性能の統計的データを自動的に収集することができる。
【００４６】
上記の動作説明では、図９のように、順次に保守要否調査（Ａ３０）、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）、送受信検査（Ａ３４）、保守通知（Ａ３５）を行う場合について説明した。
これに対して、動作順序を入れ替えて、図１０に示すように、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）の順番を変えて、順次に保守要否調査（Ａ３０）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）、送受信検査（Ａ３４）、保守通知（Ａ３５）を行うようにしてもよい。
【００４７】
このほか、図１１に示すように、送受信検査（Ａ３４）から送受検査結果判定（Ａ２３）のみを分離した送受信検査Ｂ３４を先に行うこととし順次に保守要否調査（Ａ３０）、送受信検査（Ｂ３４）、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）、送受検査結果判定（Ａ２３）、保守通知（Ａ３５）を行うようにしてもよい。
さらに、図１２に示すように、順次に保守要否調査（Ａ３０）、送受信検査（Ｂ３４）、携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）、基地局位置調査（Ａ３２）、携帯電話基地局間距離調査（Ａ３３）、送受検査結果判定（Ａ２３）、保守通知（Ａ３５）を行ってもよい。
【００４８】
また上記の動作説明では、保守管理局４１が保守要否調査（Ａ３０：保守依頼手段）のフェーズに入る契機は、制御装置２４から行われる場合を例として説明したが、別の方法として図１３のようにしてもよい。
この例では、基地局２１の制御装置２４には、携帯電話１１との送受信品質検査機能が有り、携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａ間で送受信品質検査（Ｃ４１、Ｃ４２）を行い、送受信品質が悪い場合に基地局２１ａの制御装置２４が保守管理局４１の制御装置４３に携帯電話１１の保守依頼（Ｃ４３）を行い、保守管理局４１は携帯電話１１の保守開始決定（Ｃ４４）をするという方法がある。
なお、送受信品質検査は、携帯電話１１が受信した電波のＳＮ比、基地局２１ａが受信した電波のＳＮ比を測定するという当事業者にとっては一般的なことである。
【００４９】
次に、図１４を参照して、本発明の第２の実施の形態にかかる携帯端末保守システムについて説明する。
上記第１の実施の形態（図１参照）における携帯電話１１のＧＰＳによる測位方式は、携帯電話１１のみがＧＰＳ測位を行うもので、通常、ＧＰＳ単独測位と呼ばれる方式である。一般的に、ＧＰＳ測位の方式にはＧＰＳ単独測位の他に、ネットワークアシスト測位がある。
本実施の形態では、ネットワークアシスト測位方式を用いた場合について説明する。
【００５０】
ネットワークアシスト測位では、携帯電話１１とＧＰＳ基地局７１が連動して測位する。測位結果である緯度経度高さなどの算出は、携帯電話１１が行うタイプとＧＰＳ基地局７１が行うタイプがある。
測位結果を携帯電話１１が算出するタイプでは、図５における携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）には、携帯電話１１とＧＰＳ基地局７１とで連動測位する手順が追加となる。
【００５１】
また、測位結果をＧＰＳ基地局７１が算出するタイプでは、図５における携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）は、携帯電話１１とＧＰＳ基地局７１とで連動測位する手順と、ＧＰＳ基地局７１が測位結果を保守管理局４１に送信する測位結果送信の手順とが追加になり、携帯電話１１が行う測位結果送信（Ａ４）は不要となる。
さらに、本発明のネットワークアシスト測位に関する他の実施例として、図１４以外に、図１５に示す通りにＧＰＳ基地局７１を保守管理局４１内に置く構成がある。
【００５２】
次に、図１６を参照して、本発明の第３の実施の形態にかかる携帯端末保守システムについて説明する。
上記各実施の形態では、保守管理局４１で得られた携帯電話１１の送受信性能の良否を利用するサービス例として、保守が必要な携帯電話１１については、図６の保守通知（Ａ２４）の通知文により、保守管理局４１から電話網３１および基地局２１ａを介して、その携帯電話１１へ保守の必要性を通知する例を説明した。
本実施の形態では、この保守通知の際、その携帯電話１１の修理保守を行う保守サービスセンターに関する情報も通知する場合について説明する。
【００５３】
ここでは、図１６あるいは図１７に示すように携帯電話の修理保守を行う保守サービスセンターの緯度経度、住所、所在地図、電話番号などを記録している保守サービスセンターデータベース８１を設置しておく。
そして、図６では、保守の通知は保守通知（Ａ２４）で通知文のみで行われているが、本実施の形態では、保守管理局４１から携帯電話１１に保守通知（Ａ２４）する通知文以外に、保守サービスセンターの住所、所在の地図、電話番号などの情報を送信する。
【００５４】
また、保守管理局４１の制御装置２４が、保守サービスセンターデータベース８１から読み出した保守サービスセンターの緯度経度と携帯電話位置調査（Ａ３１）した携帯電話１１の位置から携帯電話１１に最寄りの保守サービスセンターの情報を送信してもよい。
この他、図６における送受信検査結果判定（Ａ２３）において、受送信電波強度、携帯電話基地局間距離以外に携帯電話１１と基地局２１ａ間の地形および建物など電波的障害物から予想あるいは前もって測定しておいた電波減衰量を利用するようにしてもよい。
【００５５】
以上説明した各実施の形態は、携帯電話１１の送受信性能を検査するものであるが、十分に校正した携帯電話１１を使用することで、基地局２１の送受信性能を検査し、基地局２１を保守に応用利用することも可能である。
また、本発明では、通話機能を有する携帯電話を例として説明したが、通話機能を有するものに限定されるものではなく、基地局と無線回線を介して接続され、データ通信を行う一般的な携帯無線端末に対して本発明の各実施の形態を適用可能であり、上記と同様の作用効果が得られる。
【００５６】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように、本発明は、通信網を介して基地局と接続され当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査する保守管理局を設けて、基地局で、当該携帯端末との間で所定の電波を送受信することにより当該携帯端末の送受信性能を検査し、保守管理局で、当該携帯端末の位置と当該携帯端末が接続されている基地局の位置とから、当該携帯端末と当該基地局との間の距離を求め、その距離と検査で得られた当該携帯端末の送受信性能とを比較して当該携帯端末の送受信性能の良否を判断し、この判断での判定結果が当該携帯端末の送受信性能の低下を示す場合、当該携帯端末に対して保守の必要性を通知するようにしたので、利用者に所持されている状態で携帯端末の性能低下を正確かつ容易に検査できる。
【００５７】
そして、携帯端末の性能が不十分のおりには、その携帯端末の事業者から使用者に保守の通知を出すことができ、性能低下の携帯端末を使い続けるという不都合を避けることができる。
さらに、携帯端末の送受信性能の検査を携帯端末の使用者が所持していながらできることから、保守サービスセンターで携帯端末の送受信性能の検査を行う必要がなく修理を迅速に行うことができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの基本構成を示すブロック図である。
【図２】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯電話の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図３】図１の基地局の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図４】図１の保守管理局の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図５】図１の携帯無線通信システムの動作を示すシーケンス図である。
【図６】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの動作を示すシーケンス図である。
【図７】図４の基地局位置データベースの構成例である。
【図８】図４の携帯電話保守データベースの構成例である。
【図９】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの動作例を示すフローチャートである。
【図１０】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの他の動作例を示すフローチャートである。
【図１１】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの他の動作例を示すフローチャートである。
【図１２】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの他の動作例を示すフローチャートである。
【図１３】第１の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの他の動作例を示すフローチャートである。
【図１４】本発明の第２の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの基本構成を示すブロック図である。
【図１５】図１４の保守管理局の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図１６】本発明の第３の実施の形態にかかる携帯無線通信システムの基本構成を示すブロック図である。
【図１７】図１６の保守管理局の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【符号の説明】
１１…携帯電話、１２…基地局アンテナ、１３…ＧＰＳアンテナ、１４…ＧＰＳ受信装置、１５…制御装置、１６…無線通信装置、１７…表示装置、２１ａ，２１ｂ，２１ｃ…基地局、２２ａ，２２ｂ，２２ｃ…基地局アンテナ、２３…無線通信装置、２４…制御装置、２５…電話網通信装置、３１…電話網、４１…保守管理局、４２…電話網通信装置、４３…制御装置、４４…基地局位置データベース、４５…携帯電話保守データベース、５１…公衆無線回線、６１ａ，６１ｂ，６１ｃ，６１ｄ…ＧＰＳ衛星、６２ａ，６２ｂ，６２ｃ，６２ｄ…ＧＰＳ電波、７１…ＧＰＳ基地局、８１…保守サービスセンターデータベース。[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal maintenance system and method, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal maintenance system and method for inspecting transmission / reception performance of a mobile phone held by a user.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a mobile phone system, it is important to establish good wireless communication between a base station and a mobile phone in order to maintain voice quality and data communication quality.
In order to maintain good wireless communication between the base station and the mobile phone, it is necessary to transmit and receive normally on both the base station side and the mobile phone side.
[0003]
Methods for evaluating and maintaining such base stations and mobile phones have been proposed in the past. For example, for a base station, an evaluation is made based on, for example, the bit error rate (BER) of a voice frame to determine whether good wireless communication is possible at each position within the communication area of the base station (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-252907). No. Gazette etc.) have been proposed.
For mobile phones, as with base stations, based on the bit error rate, etc., it is predicted that the mobile phone is going out of the communication area of the base station and reports to the user from the mobile phone (for example, a patent application) Hei 6-276149 has been proposed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a conventional maintenance method, since the evaluation varies depending on the distance between the base station and the mobile phone, it is impossible to accurately detect and maintain the performance degradation of the mobile phone itself at an arbitrary location. There was a problem.
In addition, although there is a maintenance service that measures the transmitted / received radio wave intensity of the mobile phone under a predetermined test environment based on a request from the user, the user must actually carry it before using such a maintenance service. There was a problem that it was difficult to inspect the performance degradation of the telephone.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal maintenance system and method capable of accurately and easily inspecting deterioration of the performance of a mobile phone while being held by a user. Yes.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve such an object, the portable terminal maintenance system according to the present invention is a portable terminal that is connected to a base station via a wireless line and performs a call or data communication while being held by a user. In a portable terminal maintenance system for inspecting transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal, a portable terminal that performs a call or data communication by connecting to a plurality of base stations connected via a communication network and any of the base stations via a wireless line And a maintenance management station that is connected to the base station via a communication network and inspects the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, and transmits and receives a predetermined radio wave to and from the mobile terminal. A transmission / reception inspection means for inspecting the transmission / reception performance of the terminal is provided, and the maintenance management station determines whether the mobile terminal and the base station are connected from the position of the mobile terminal and the position of the base station to which the mobile terminal is connected. A distance surveying means for determining the distance of the mobile terminal, and a judgment means for comparing the distance obtained by the distance surveying means with the transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal obtained by the transmission / reception examining means to determine whether the transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal is good or bad When A maintenance notification means for notifying the mobile terminal of the necessity of maintenance when the determination result of the determination means indicates a decrease in transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal; Is provided.
[0006]
As a specific configuration example for obtaining the distance between the mobile terminal and the base station, the mobile terminal is provided with positioning means for positioning the position of the mobile terminal, and the distance surveying means is controlled by controlling the positioning means of the mobile terminal. Based on the base station information indicating the base station connected to the mobile terminal notified from the mobile terminal and from the known location information of each base station, the base station Base station location surveying means for obtaining the location may be provided.
[0007]
When inspecting the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, the transmission / reception inspection means transmits the mobile terminal received radio wave intensity obtained by the mobile terminal to the predetermined level of the inspection radio wave transmitted from the base station and transmitted from the mobile terminal. The base station received radio wave intensity obtained at the base station may be output as the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal for the predetermined level of inspection radio waves.
[0009]
When investigating the position of the mobile terminal, a GPS positioning system using GPS satellites or a network-assisted positioning system using a GPS base station connected to a communication network may be used as the mobile terminal position surveying means.
[0010]
As a specific configuration example for performing automatic maintenance management of each mobile terminal, the maintenance management station may further be provided with maintenance management means for periodically collecting transmission / reception performance of each mobile terminal and determining pass / fail.
[0011]
As another specific configuration example for performing automatic maintenance management of each mobile terminal, the base station is informed of the mobile terminal with respect to the maintenance management station according to the inspection result of the transmission / reception quality inspection performed with the mobile terminal. Maintenance request means for requesting a maintenance investigation may be further provided, and the maintenance management station may further be provided with a maintenance management means for collecting the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal and determining whether it is good or bad in response to the maintenance investigation request from the base station. .
[0012]
When notifying the mobile terminal of the necessity for maintenance, the maintenance notification means may notify the information about the nearest service center according to the location information of the mobile terminal.
[0013]
The mobile terminal maintenance method according to the present invention includes a plurality of base stations connected via a communication network, a mobile terminal connected to any of the base stations via a wireless line, and performing communication and data communication, A mobile terminal maintenance system comprising a maintenance management station connected to a base station via a network and inspecting the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal is used to check the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal in a state possessed by the user. A mobile terminal maintenance method, wherein a base station inspects transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal by transmitting and receiving predetermined radio waves to and from the mobile terminal, and a maintenance management station checks the location of the mobile terminal and the mobile terminal. The distance between the mobile terminal and the base station is determined from the position of the base station to which the terminal is connected, and the obtained distance Inspection Compare the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal obtained in step 1 to determine whether the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal is good or bad If the determination result in this determination indicates a decrease in transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal is notified of the necessity for maintenance. It is what I did.
[0014]
As a specific method for obtaining the distance between the mobile terminal and the base station, the position of the mobile terminal is measured by the mobile terminal, and when the distance is obtained by the maintenance management station, the mobile terminal is controlled by controlling the positioning means of the mobile terminal. Obtaining the location of the terminal and obtaining the location of the base station from the known location information of each base station based on the base station information notified from the mobile terminal and indicating the base station to which the mobile terminal is connected. May be.
[0015]
When testing the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal received radio wave intensity obtained by the mobile terminal with respect to the predetermined level of test radio waves transmitted from the base station, and the predetermined level transmitted from the mobile terminal The base station received radio wave intensity obtained at the base station with respect to the inspection radio wave may be output as the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal.
[0017]
When investigating the position of the mobile terminal, a GPS positioning method using a GPS satellite or a network assist positioning method using a GPS base station connected to a communication network may be used.
[0018]
As a specific method of performing automatic maintenance management of each mobile terminal, the maintenance management station may periodically collect transmission / reception performance and pass / fail judgment of each mobile terminal.
[0019]
As another specific method for performing automatic maintenance management of each mobile terminal, the base station performs maintenance on the mobile terminal in accordance with the inspection result of the transmission / reception quality inspection performed with the mobile terminal. An investigation may be requested, and the maintenance management station may collect transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal and determine whether it is acceptable or not in response to a maintenance investigation request from the base station.
[0020]
When notifying the mobile terminal of the necessity for maintenance, the maintenance management station may notify the information about the nearest service center according to the location information of the mobile terminal.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a portable terminal maintenance system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
This mobile terminal maintenance system includes a mobile phone 11, base stations 21a, 21b, 21c, a telephone network 31, a maintenance management station 41, and GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d.
[0022]
The mobile phone 11 has a general mobile phone function such as a telephone function for communicating with the base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c using the public wireless line 51 and an interface with a user.
In addition to this, a GPS radio wave reception function for receiving GPS radio waves 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d from GPS satellites 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d by the GPS antenna 13 attached to the mobile phone 11, and received GPS radio waves A positioning function that also calculates the latitude / longitude or height of the mobile phone 11 from 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, and transmission / reception for checking the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone 11 in cooperation with the base stations 21a, 21b, 21c and the maintenance management station 41 It has an inspection function and a maintenance notification display function for notifying the user of the mobile phone 11 of a notification sentence designated by the maintenance management station 41.
[0023]
The base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c have general functions such as communication with the mobile phone 11 and the telephone network 31.
In addition to this, the base station 21 a in communication with the mobile phone 11 transmits a base station ID to the maintenance management station 41, and the mobile phone 11 and the maintenance management station 41 cooperate with the mobile phone 11. It has a transmission / reception inspection function for inspecting the transmission / reception performance of the telephone.
The base station antennas 22a, 22b, and 22c are generally equipped with the base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c, and communicate with the mobile phone antenna 12 of the mobile phone 11 using the public wireless line 51. .
[0024]
The maintenance management station 41 functions as a maintenance necessity survey (A30: maintenance management means) for identifying the mobile phone 11 that requires transmission / reception maintenance, and a mobile phone location survey (A31: mobile terminal location) for examining the location of the mobile phone 11 The function of the investigation means), the function of the base station position investigation (A32: base station position investigation means) that receives the base station ID transmitted from the base station 21a in communication with the mobile phone 11 and investigates the position of the base station 21a And a mobile phone base station distance survey (A33: calculating a distance between mobile phone base stations from the mobile phone location and the base station location investigated using the mobile phone location survey (A31) and the base station location survey (A32). It has the function of distance survey means.
[0025]
In addition to this, the function of the transmission / reception inspection (A34: determination means) for checking the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone in cooperation with the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a and the transmission / reception of the mobile phone in the transmission / reception inspection (A34) It has a function of a maintenance notification (A35: maintenance notification means) that creates a notification sentence required by the mobile phone user from the performance pass / fail judgment result and notifies the mobile phone 11 of it.
The telephone network 31 has a general communication function. In the present invention, a maintenance management station 41 is connected to establish communication between the maintenance management station 41 and the base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c.
[0026]
Next, the internal configuration of the mobile phone 11, the base stations 21a, 21b, 21c, and the maintenance management station 41, which are components of the present invention, will be described.
First, the internal configuration of the mobile phone 11 will be described with reference to FIG. The mobile phone 11 includes a GPS antenna 13 that receives GPS radio waves 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d, a GPS receiver 14 that performs positioning by performing signal processing on the GPS radio waves 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d received by the GPS antenna 13, A mobile phone antenna 12 that performs communication with the base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c on the public wireless line 51, a wireless communication device 16, a display device 17 that performs display in accordance with instructions from the control device 15, a GPS reception device 14, a wireless communication device 16, And a control device 15 that controls the display device 17 to operate the positioning function, the transmission / reception inspection function, and the maintenance notification display function. Note that the positioning function of the mobile phone 11 can use a general technique such as car navigation that is widely used in general automobiles.
[0027]
Next, the base station 21 will be described with reference to FIG. The base station 21 includes a base station antenna 22 and a wireless communication device 23 for communicating with the mobile phone 11 using the public wireless line 51, a telephone network communication device 25 for communicating with the telephone network 31, and the wireless communication device 23. And a control device 24 that controls the telephone network communication device 25 and functions as a base station.
In the present invention, the control device 24 has a base station ID transmission function and a transmission / reception inspection function performed by controlling the wireless communication device 23 and the telephone network communication device 25.
[0028]
Next, the maintenance management station 41 will be described with reference to FIG. The maintenance management station 41 is connected to the telephone network 31 to communicate with the base station 21 or the mobile phone 11, a telephone network communication device 42, a maintenance necessity investigation (A 30) function for searching for a mobile phone requiring maintenance, a base station A control device having a function of location survey (A32), a function of cellular phone location survey (A31) and a distance survey between mobile phone base stations (A33), a function of transmission / reception inspection (A34), and a function of maintenance notification (A35) 24, a base station position database 44 for storing information such as the latitude and longitude of the base station with respect to the base station ID, and a mobile phone maintenance database 45 for storing the transmission / reception inspection results of the mobile phone 11 and the like are provided.
[0029]
Among these, as the telephone network communication device 42, it is possible to use a general telephone network-dependent device such as a modem or an ISDN terminal adapter. As the control device 43, the base station position database 44, and the mobile phone maintenance database 45, a general electronic computer such as a personal computer or a workstation can be used.
FIG. 7 is a data example of the base station position database 44, in which position information such as a base station ID and latitude / longitude height is recorded. FIG. 8 is an example of data in the mobile phone maintenance database 45. For each mobile phone, the phone number as the maintenance notification destination, the transmission / reception inspection result, the maintenance notification date, and the maintenance status of the notification content for each mobile phone as a key Is recorded.
[0030]
In FIG. 1, a total of four GPS satellites 61 a, 61 b, 61 c, and 61 d are shown, but the number of GPS satellites that can be received by the mobile phone 11 is indefinite depending on time and place. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a communicate with each other, and the base station 21b and the base station 21c are used depending on the location where the mobile phone 11 exists.
In FIG. 1, a total of three base stations 21a, 21b, and 21c are shown, but the present invention does not force the number of base stations, and any number is possible. Note that the GPS positioning method, the mobile phone 11, the base stations 21a, 21b, 21c, and the telephone network 31 are general to those skilled in the art and are not directly related to the present invention. Is omitted.
[0031]
Next, the operation of the portable terminal maintenance system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of the portable terminal maintenance system according to the present embodiment includes the maintenance necessity survey (A30), the cellular phone location survey (A31), the base station location survey (A32), and the cellular phone base. It consists of six phases: inter-station distance survey (A33), transmission / reception inspection (A34), and maintenance notification (A35), which are executed in sequence.
[0032]
First, the control device 24 of the maintenance management station 41 enters the maintenance necessity investigation (A30) phase, reads the next inspection date of the mobile phone maintenance database 45 shown in FIG. 8, and performs the next inspection date confirmation (A1).
The next inspection date confirmation (A1) determines that the next inspection date is a mobile phone requiring maintenance for a mobile phone whose current inspection date is today or a past date. The following maintenance is performed on the mobile phone that is determined to require maintenance in the next inspection date confirmation (A1).
Note that the maintenance management station 41 enters the maintenance necessity investigation (A30) phase once or once a week, such as once a week or automatically or as needed by the control device 24. The administrator instructs the control device 24.
[0033]
Subsequently, the maintenance management station 41 enters the mobile phone location survey (A31) phase, and sends a positioning instruction (A2) to the mobile phone 11 to the mobile phone 11 that is determined to require maintenance in the maintenance necessity survey (A30). put out.
The cellular phone 11 performs positioning (A3) of the position of the cellular phone 11 using the positioning function. The mobile phone 11 performs positioning result transmission (A4) for transmitting the positioning result to the maintenance management station 41.
[0034]
Next, the maintenance management station 41 enters the phase of base station location survey (A32), and issues a base station ID transmission instruction (A5) to the base station 21a communicating with the mobile phone 11.
The base station 21a that has communicated with the mobile phone 11 performs base station ID transmission (A6) in which the base station ID is transmitted to the maintenance management station 41 in response to the base station ID transmission instruction (A5).
[0035]
Subsequently, the maintenance management station 41 enters the phase of the mobile phone base station distance survey (A33), and the location of the mobile phone 11 determined by the mobile phone location survey (A31) and the base station location survey (A32). Based on the base station ID and the position of the base station determined from the base station position database 44, a distance calculation between mobile phone base stations (A7) is performed to calculate the distance between the mobile phone and the base station.
Then, the maintenance management station 41 enters a phase of transmission / reception inspection (A34). Instruct to perform transmission / reception inspection, and specify the strength of the reception inspection radio wave output from the base station 21a to the mobile phone 11 and the strength of the transmission inspection radio wave output from the mobile phone 11 to the base station 21a during the transmission / reception inspection, respectively. Therefore, a transmission / reception inspection and a radio wave intensity instruction (A8) are performed.
[0036]
The base station 21a that has received the radio wave intensity instruction (A8) issues a transmission / reception inspection instruction (A9) to the mobile phone 11 to notify that the transmission / reception inspection is to be performed. The base station 21a that issued the transmission / reception inspection instruction (A9) performs transmission / reception inspection synchronization establishment (A10), and the mobile phone 11 performs transmission / reception synchronization establishment (A11), and waits for reception inspection radio waves from the base station 21a.
Next, the base station 21a sets the intensity of the reception inspection radio wave to the mobile phone 11 to the reception inspection radio wave intensity specified by the transmission / reception inspection and the radio wave intensity instruction (A8) from the maintenance management station 41. Intensity setting (A12) is performed. Then, reception inspection radio wave transmission (A13) is performed in which the reception inspection radio wave is transmitted to the mobile phone 11 with the set radio wave intensity.
[0037]
The mobile phone 11 receives a reception inspection radio wave, performs mobile phone reception radio field intensity measurement (A14) to measure the intensity of the reception radio wave, and transmits a measurement result to the base station 21a. I do.
In response to this, the base station 21a performs mobile phone reception radio wave intensity recording (A16), which is recorded from the mobile phone 11 and records the radio wave intensity when the mobile phone 11 receives the reception inspection radio wave.
[0038]
Next, the base station 21a transmits to the mobile phone 11 the radio wave intensity for transmission inspection transmitted from the mobile phone 11 specified by the radio wave intensity instruction (A8) to the base station 21a from the maintenance management station 41. Transmission radio wave intensity designation (A17) is performed.
In response to this, the mobile phone 11 performs transmission radio field intensity setting (A18) for transmitting radio waves to the base station 21a with the transmission radio field intensity specified by the transmission radio field intensity designation (A17), and sends the transmission to the base station 21a. Transmission inspection radio wave transmission (A19) for transmitting transmission inspection radio waves is performed.
[0039]
Subsequently, the base station 21a performs a base station received radio wave intensity measurement (A20) for receiving the transmission inspection radio wave and measuring the radio wave intensity, and performs a base station received radio wave intensity record (A21) for recording the measurement result.
Then, the mobile phone reception radio field intensity and the base station reception radio field intensity transmission (A22 / or higher) are transmitted to the maintenance management station 41 by the radio field intensity recorded in the mobile phone reception radio field intensity record (A16) and the base station reception radio field intensity record (A21). A9 to A22: Transmission / reception inspection means).
[0040]
The maintenance management station 41 calculates the mobile phone reception radio wave intensity and the base station reception radio wave intensity transmitted from the base station 21a, the transmission radio wave intensity value specified by the transmission / reception inspection and radio wave intensity instruction (A8), and the mobile phone base station distance calculation ( Determining whether the radio field intensity transmitted and received from the distance between the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a calculated in A7) is appropriate, that is, whether the radio field intensity is commensurate with the distance between the mobile terminal and the base station; A transmission / reception inspection result determination (A23) is performed in which the determination result is recorded in the mobile phone maintenance database 45.
[0041]
In the example of FIG. 8, the reception test is recorded as “◯” if the radio wave reception performance of the mobile phone is sufficient, and “Δ” or “x” is recorded if it is insufficient due to the performance degradation. In addition, if the transmission radio wave performance of the mobile phone is sufficient, the transmission inspection is recorded as “◯”, and if the performance is insufficient, “Δ” or “×” is recorded. Then, the inspection date and the inspection date are recorded, and the date on which the transmission / reception inspection is performed again is recorded as the next inspection date.
Finally, the maintenance management station 41 enters the maintenance notification (A35) phase. The maintenance management station 41 reads out the inspection result of the mobile phone 11 from the mobile phone maintenance database 45, and creates a maintenance notification sentence to the user of the mobile phone 11, notifies it, and records the notification result in the mobile phone maintenance database 45. Notification (A24) is performed.
[0042]
In the example of FIG. 8, if there is “×” in the reception inspection or transmission inspection, the notification sentence is “request to visit” and if both the reception inspection and transmission inspection are “◯”, the notification sentence is “no problem”.
If both the reception inspection and the transmission inspection are “Δ” or “◯” and “Δ”, the notification sentence is “recommendation to visit” and the notification sentence is transmitted to the mobile phone 11.
[0043]
If the transmission is completed, the maintenance notification date is recorded in the mobile phone maintenance database 45, and if the transmission cannot be completed due to some trouble, the maintenance notification date is recorded as “incomplete”.
The mobile phone 11 receives the maintenance notification text from the maintenance management station 41, performs a display notification display (A25) for displaying the notification text on the display device 17, and notifies the user of the notification text.
[0044]
In this way, the distance between the mobile phone base stations is calculated from the location of the mobile phone 11 and the known base station 21a, and the transmitted radio wave intensity from the base station 21a to the mobile phone 11 in the public wireless line 51 and the mobile phone. 11 is suitable for the distance between the mobile phone base stations, or the transmitted radio wave strength from the mobile phone 11 to the base station 21a and the received radio wave strength received by the base station 21a are Since the maintenance management station 41 determines whether it is appropriate for the distance between the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a, the deterioration in the performance of the mobile phone can be accurately and accurately maintained while being held by the user. Can be easily inspected.
If the performance of the mobile phone 11 is insufficient, the mobile phone operator can notify the user of maintenance, and the inconvenience of continuing to use the mobile phone with degraded performance can be avoided.
[0045]
Furthermore, since the user of the mobile phone 11 can check the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone 11, it is not necessary to check the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone 11 at the maintenance service center, and the repair can be performed quickly. .
Further, since the position of the mobile phone 11 is precisely measured using GPS and the distance between the base station 21 and the mobile phone 11 is calculated, the transmission / reception inspection can be performed accurately.
Further, since the transmission / reception inspection result is recorded in the maintenance management station 41, the mobile phone manufacturer can automatically collect statistical data of the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone.
[0046]
In the above operation description, as shown in FIG. 9, the maintenance necessity survey (A30), the mobile phone location survey (A31), the base station location survey (A32), the mobile phone base station distance survey (A33), transmission / reception The case where the inspection (A34) and the maintenance notification (A35) are performed has been described.
On the other hand, the operation order is changed, and as shown in FIG. 10, the order of the mobile phone position investigation (A31) and the base station position investigation (A32) is changed, and the maintenance necessity investigation (A30), base A station location survey (A32), a cellular phone location survey (A31), a cellular phone base station distance survey (A33), a transmission / reception inspection (A34), and a maintenance notification (A35) may be performed.
[0047]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, a transmission / reception inspection B34 in which only the transmission / reception inspection result determination (A23) is separated from the transmission / reception inspection (A34) is performed first, and a maintenance necessity investigation (A30) and a transmission / reception inspection (B34) are sequentially performed. ), Mobile phone location survey (A31), base station location survey (A32), mobile phone base station distance survey (A33), transmission / reception test result determination (A23), and maintenance notification (A35).
Further, as shown in FIG. 12, a maintenance necessity survey (A30), a transmission / reception inspection (B34), a mobile phone location survey (A31), a base station location survey (A32), and a mobile phone base station distance survey (A33). ), Transmission / reception inspection result determination (A23), and maintenance notification (A35) may be performed.
[0048]
Further, in the above description of the operation, the case where the maintenance management station 41 enters the phase of the maintenance necessity investigation (A30: maintenance request means) is described as an example when it is performed from the control device 24. However, as another method, FIG. It may be as follows.
In this example, the control device 24 of the base station 21 has a transmission / reception quality inspection function with the mobile phone 11, performs transmission / reception quality inspection (C41, C42) between the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a, and the transmission / reception quality is poor. In this case, the control device 24 of the base station 21a makes a maintenance request (C43) for the mobile phone 11 to the control device 43 of the maintenance management station 41, and the maintenance management station 41 makes a maintenance start decision (C44) for the mobile phone 11. There is.
Note that the transmission / reception quality inspection is common for those operators who measure the S / N ratio of radio waves received by the mobile phone 11 and the S / N ratio of radio waves received by the base station 21a.
[0049]
Next, a portable terminal maintenance system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The GPS positioning method of the mobile phone 11 in the first embodiment (see FIG. 1) is a method in which only the mobile phone 11 performs GPS positioning, and is usually a method called GPS single positioning. In general, the GPS positioning method includes network-assisted positioning in addition to GPS single positioning.
In this embodiment, a case where a network-assisted positioning method is used will be described.
[0050]
In the network-assisted positioning, the mobile phone 11 and the GPS base station 71 perform positioning in conjunction. The calculation of the latitude and longitude height as a positioning result is performed by the mobile phone 11 and the GPS base station 71.
In the type in which the mobile phone 11 calculates the positioning result, a procedure for linked positioning between the mobile phone 11 and the GPS base station 71 is added to the mobile phone position survey (A31) in FIG.
[0051]
In the type in which the GPS base station 71 calculates the positioning result, the mobile phone position survey (A31) in FIG. 5 includes a procedure for interlocking positioning between the mobile phone 11 and the GPS base station 71, and the GPS base station 71 performs the positioning result. Is added to the maintenance management station 41, and the positioning result transmission (A4) performed by the mobile phone 11 becomes unnecessary.
Furthermore, as another embodiment relating to the network-assisted positioning of the present invention, there is a configuration in which the GPS base station 71 is placed in the maintenance management station 41 as shown in FIG.
[0052]
Next, with reference to FIG. 16, the portable terminal maintenance system concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.
In each of the above embodiments, as a service example using the quality of transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone 11 obtained by the maintenance management station 41, the notification of the maintenance notification (A24) in FIG. The example in which the maintenance management station 41 notifies the necessity of maintenance to the mobile phone 11 via the telephone network 31 and the base station 21a has been described.
In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which information regarding a maintenance service center that performs repair and maintenance of the mobile phone 11 is also notified at the time of this maintenance notification.
[0053]
Here, as shown in FIG. 16 or FIG. 17, a maintenance service center database 81 is recorded in which the latitude / longitude, address, location map, telephone number, etc. of the maintenance service center for repairing and maintaining mobile phones are recorded.
In FIG. 6, the notification of maintenance is performed only with the notification text in the maintenance notification (A24). However, in the present embodiment, other than the notification text for the maintenance notification (A24) from the maintenance management station 41 to the mobile phone 11. In addition, information such as the address of the maintenance service center, the location map, and the telephone number is transmitted.
[0054]
In addition, the maintenance service center nearest to the mobile phone 11 from the latitude / longitude of the maintenance service center read out from the maintenance service center database 81 and the location of the mobile phone 11 (A31) is checked by the control device 24 of the maintenance management station 41. May be transmitted.
In addition, in the transmission / reception inspection result determination (A23) in FIG. 6, in addition to the received / transmitted radio wave intensity and the distance between the mobile phone base stations, it is predicted or measured in advance from radio wave obstacles such as topography and buildings between the mobile phone 11 and the base station 21a. You may make it utilize the amount of electromagnetic wave attenuation previously made.
[0055]
Each of the embodiments described above examines the transmission / reception performance of the mobile phone 11. However, by using a sufficiently calibrated mobile phone 11, the transmission / reception performance of the base station 21 is examined, It can also be used for maintenance.
In the present invention, a mobile phone having a call function has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone having a call function, and is generally connected to a base station via a wireless line and performs data communication. Each embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a portable wireless terminal, and the same effects as described above can be obtained.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention provides a maintenance management station that is connected to a base station via a communication network and inspects the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, and the base station performs predetermined radio waves with the mobile terminal. The transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal is inspected by transmitting and receiving, and the maintenance management station determines whether the mobile terminal and the base station are connected from the position of the mobile terminal and the position of the base station to which the mobile terminal is connected. Find the distance between the distance and Inspection Compare the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal obtained in step 1 to determine whether the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal is good or bad If the determination result in this determination indicates a decrease in transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal is notified of the necessity for maintenance. Since it did in this way, the performance fall of a portable terminal can be test | inspected correctly and easily in the state possessed by the user.
[0057]
If the performance of the mobile terminal is insufficient, the operator of the mobile terminal can notify the user of the maintenance, and the inconvenience of continuing to use the mobile terminal with degraded performance can be avoided.
Furthermore, since the user of the portable terminal can check the transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal, it is not necessary to check the transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal at the maintenance service center, and the repair can be performed quickly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a mobile radio communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the mobile phone according to the first embodiment.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a base station in FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a maintenance management station in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the portable radio communication system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the mobile radio communication system according to the first embodiment.
7 is a configuration example of a base station location database in FIG. 4;
8 is a configuration example of the mobile phone maintenance database of FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the mobile radio communication system according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the mobile radio communication system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the portable radio communication system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the portable wireless communication system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the mobile radio communication system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a portable radio communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the maintenance management station in FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a mobile radio communication system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a maintenance management station in FIG. 16;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Mobile phone, 12 ... Base station antenna, 13 ... GPS antenna, 14 ... GPS receiver, 15 ... Control device, 16 ... Wireless communication device, 17 ... Display device, 21a, 21b, 21c ... Base station, 22a, 22b , 22c ... base station antenna, 23 ... wireless communication device, 24 ... control device, 25 ... telephone network communication device, 31 ... telephone network, 41 ... maintenance management station, 42 ... telephone network communication device, 43 ... control device, 44 ... Base station location database, 45 ... mobile phone maintenance database, 51 ... public wireless network, 61a, 61b, 61c, 61d ... GPS satellite, 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d ... GPS radio wave, 71 ... GPS base station, 81 ... maintenance service Center database.

Claims

In a portable terminal maintenance system that inspects transmission / reception performance of a portable terminal that is held by a user for a portable terminal that connects to a base station via a wireless line and performs communication and data communication,
A plurality of base stations connected via a communication network, a mobile terminal connected to any one of the base stations via a wireless line to perform a call or data communication, and connected to the base station via the communication network It consists of the maintenance management station that inspects the transmission and reception performance of the mobile terminal,
The base station has transmission / reception inspection means for inspecting transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal by transmitting / receiving a predetermined radio wave to / from the mobile terminal,
The maintenance management station includes a distance investigation unit that obtains a distance between the portable terminal and the base station from a position of the portable terminal and a base station to which the portable terminal is connected, and the distance investigation unit. a judging means obtained by comparing the transmission and reception performance of the obtained the mobile terminal with the distance between the transmitting and receiving test means for determining the quality of transmission and reception performance of the mobile terminal, the determination result of said determining means the A portable terminal maintenance system comprising maintenance notification means for notifying the portable terminal of the necessity of maintenance when the transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal is deteriorated .

The mobile terminal maintenance system according to claim 1,
The mobile terminal has positioning means for positioning the position of the mobile terminal,
The distance surveying means controls the positioning means of the portable terminal to obtain the position of the portable terminal, and the base indicating the base station connected to the portable terminal notified from the portable terminal A mobile terminal maintenance system comprising base station location checking means for obtaining the location of the base station from the known location information of each base station based on the station information.

The mobile terminal maintenance system according to claim 1,
The transmission / reception inspection unit is configured to detect a mobile terminal reception radio wave intensity obtained by the mobile terminal with respect to a predetermined level of test radio wave transmitted from the base station and a predetermined level of test radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal. And a base station reception radio wave intensity obtained at the base station is output as transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal.

In the portable terminal maintenance system according to claim 2,
A portable terminal maintenance system using a GPS positioning method using a GPS satellite or a network assisted positioning method using a GPS base station connected to the communication network as the portable terminal position investigation means.

The mobile terminal maintenance system according to claim 1,
The maintenance management station further includes maintenance management means for periodically collecting transmission / reception performance and determining pass / fail of each portable terminal.

The mobile terminal maintenance system according to claim 1,
The base station further has a maintenance request means for requesting a maintenance investigation of the mobile terminal to the maintenance management station according to an inspection result of a transmission / reception quality inspection performed with the mobile terminal,
The maintenance management station further comprises maintenance management means for collecting transmission / reception performance of the portable terminal and judging whether it is acceptable or not in response to a maintenance investigation request from the base station.

The mobile terminal maintenance system according to claim 1 ,
When notifying the necessity of maintenance to the portable terminal, the maintenance notifying means notifies the information about the nearest service center according to the position information of the portable terminal.

A plurality of base stations connected via a communication network, a mobile terminal connected to any one of the base stations via a wireless line to perform a call or data communication, and connected to the base station via the communication network A mobile terminal maintenance method for inspecting the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal in a state possessed by a user using a mobile terminal maintenance system comprising a maintenance management station that inspects the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal,
The base station inspects the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal by transmitting / receiving a predetermined radio wave to / from the mobile terminal,
The maintenance management station obtains the distance between the mobile terminal and the base station from the position of the mobile terminal and the position of the base station to which the mobile terminal is connected, and the obtained distance and the inspection When the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal is judged to be good by comparing the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal obtained in the above , and the determination result in this determination indicates a decrease in the transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal, Mobile terminal maintenance method, characterized by notifying the necessity of maintenance

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 8 , wherein
With the mobile terminal, measure the position of the mobile terminal,
When determining the distance at the maintenance management station, the positioning means of the mobile terminal is controlled to obtain the position of the mobile terminal, and the base station connected to the mobile terminal notified from the mobile terminal is indicated. A mobile terminal maintenance method characterized in that, based on station information, the position of the base station is obtained from known position information of each base station.

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 8 , wherein
When performing transmission / reception inspection at the base station, the mobile terminal received radio wave intensity obtained at the mobile terminal with respect to the predetermined level of inspection radio waves transmitted from the base station, and the predetermined level inspection transmitted from the mobile terminal A mobile terminal maintenance method, wherein base station received radio wave intensity obtained at the base station is output as transmission / reception performance of the mobile terminal with respect to radio waves for use.

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 9 , wherein
A portable terminal maintenance method using a GPS positioning method using a GPS satellite or a network assisted positioning method using a GPS base station connected to the communication network when investigating the position of the portable terminal.

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 8 , wherein
A mobile terminal maintenance method, wherein the maintenance management station periodically collects transmission / reception performance of each mobile terminal and performs pass / fail judgment.

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 8 , wherein
According to the inspection result of the transmission / reception quality inspection performed between the mobile terminal and the base station, the maintenance management station is requested to perform a maintenance survey on the mobile terminal,
A mobile terminal maintenance method, wherein the maintenance management station collects transmission / reception performance and determines pass / fail of the mobile terminal in response to a maintenance investigation request from the base station.

The mobile terminal maintenance method according to claim 8 , wherein
When notifying the said portable terminal of the necessity of maintenance in the said maintenance management station, the information regarding the nearest service center is notified according to the positional information on the said portable terminal, The portable terminal maintenance method characterized by the above-mentioned.